NLIHC and its Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) of more than 850 local, state, and national organizations support the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act,” introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Al Green (D-TX).
If enacted, the bill would permanently authorize the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, which provides states, tribes, and communities with flexible, long-term recovery resources needed to rebuild affordable housing and infrastructure after a disaster. The bill also provides important safeguards and tools to help ensure that federal disaster recovery efforts reach all impacted households, including the lowest income and most marginalized survivors, who are often hardest-hit by disasters and have the fewest resources to recover.
As Congress resumes to close out the year, the last chance for ensuring the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act is enacted by the present Congress will be through inclusion of the bill in any must-pass year-end legislation. For this reason, we are asking all interested organizations to sign a letter to Congressional leadership calling for the passage of the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act. Sign your organization on today!
Hurricane Ian Updates
Tenants in Orange County, Florida, refused to vacate their homes after hurricane damage prompted evictions. Tenants explained that they lack any available options for housing, according to Channel 6 News Orlando.
For the first time, homeless victims of a hurricane will be eligible for federal aid, according to Marketplace.
Lee County commissioners announced Disaster Assistance State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) grant agreements providing approximately $4.5 million dollars in grant money for several nonprofits serving Lee County to aid in Hurricane Ian relief.
FEMA announced that it has approved the State of Florida’s request for direct temporary housing in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, and Lee counties and that it will provide travel trailers and larger manufactured housing units to help eligible Hurricane Ian survivors get roofs over their heads.
Cape Coral renters were forced to leave their houses after Hurricane Ian.
RV/trailer park residents have said they are still without power or water a month after Hurricane Ian.
All mobile home owners and some tenants with leases for homes on Good Samaritan’s Kissimmee Village property that were flooded after Hurricane Ian last month will have to pay rent again starting today. However, multiple officials expressed concerns that the rent resumption was premature. A FEMA official, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said every so-called “livable” apartment unit on the property had suffered damage and was at risk of developing mold.
Hurricane Ian underscored the vulnerability of Florida’s mobile home parks, especially for the many immigrant families who call them home. Residents are facing anxieties that are not just storm-related.
Evictions are looming for Orlando apartment complex residents after Hurricane Ian.
Residents at an Orange County apartment complex met with a FEMA representative ahead of evictions.
Floridians displaced by Hurricane Ian are facing decisions about how or whether they will rebuild.
Collier commissioners are frustrated over the lack of temporary housing for Ian’s victims.
Rebuilding affordable housing is essential for coastal businesses’ hurricane recovery.
Hurricane Fiona Updates
Following Hurricane Fiona, Puerto Rico is confronting lingering obstacles in the emergency aid process.
LGBTQ+ organizations are assisting in community-based recovery efforts in hard-hit areas of Puerto Rico.
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called the condition of Puerto Rico’s power grid unacceptable in comments during a visit to the island this week. Puerto Rico’s recently privatized power grid has suffered massive failures following Hurricane Fiona.
Congressional and Federal Updates
President Biden reiterated his administration’s commitment to Florida disaster recovery in a speech on Monday, remarking that “I made a commitment that my administration [and] the federal government would give the people of Florida the commitment that we’re going to not move until it’s all done. We’re going to stick with you until it gets all done.”
State and Local
Alaska
Western Alaska communities will receive over $1 million in recovery funding to help recovery efforts following a massive storm in September. According to the Alaska Community Foundation, over $500,000 will be disbursed this month to the towns that need the funds most, with the rest of the money being distributed in early November. The aid can help households pay for repairs, damages, and temporary housing. Businesses can also apply for funds to help offset the costs of physical damage and economic losses caused by the storm.
California
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine warn that Black and low-income communities would be hardest-hit by an extreme flooding disaster of the kind that might occur once every 100 years. The potential for a “100-year” flooding event puts nearly 1 million people living in the Los Angeles Basin at risk – 30 times the number suggested by FEMA.
Colorado
The new Marshall Fire Recovery Center opened in Louisville on October 31 to provide a centralized location for mental health, rebuilding, and technical programs for survivors, as well as a place to collaborate with local and government organizations. Families can visit the center to work with case managers from the Navigating Disaster for Boulder County program to support the rebuilding process. Nearly a year after the devastating Marshall Fire, some families still remain in temporary housing, continuing to struggle with the expensive rebuilding process and grapple with the emotional trauma of the event.
The total cost of losses from the Marshall Fire has increased from more than $1 billion to more than $2 billion, according to Colorado’s insurance commissioner, Michael Conway. An initial assessment for 951 homes exceeded $1 billion when it was made in April 2022, but since then estimates have increased due to additional claims and further assessments.
Kentucky
The Housing Development Alliance (HDA), in partnership with the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and Fahe, announced progress on the construction of the first of four new homes for Perry County flood survivors. The home is the first in a series of 12 to be built for flood survivors in hard-hit Breathitt, Knott, and Perry counties.
Louisiana
HUD has awarded $841 million to Louisiana to support housing needs related to 2021 natural disasters. The department provided more than $800 million to the state, more than $7 million to Lake Charles, and more than $3 million to Baton Rouge.
Michigan
Nearly six months after Gaylord endured a devastating EF-3 tornado, local leaders met to discuss tourism growth and infrastructure projects to rebuild following the disaster. About 200 structures were damaged in the tornado, many of them low-income housing properties or commercial businesses. For this reason, Gaylord did not meet the threshold for uninsured damages necessary to qualify for FEMA assistance. Nevertheless, the community raised about $1.8 million to aid families and businesses.
Nebraska
The Nebraska Department of Economic Development announced that $8 million in federal funds will go to four different Omaha area development projects to help deliver 159 affordable dwellings for communities impacted by the March 2019 floods. The grants are expected to leverage low-income housing tax credits for those projects, which are designed to benefit households with incomes considered low to moderate.
New Jersey
The City of Lambertville, Hunterdon County, and the State of New Jersey have worked together to help rebuild after widespread devastation following Hurricane Ida, a Category Four hurricane that struck in September 2021 and caused the worst flash flood in Lambertville’s history. Former mayor Julia Fahl said that “more than 20 government and nonprofit entities are coming into our community to ensure that any questions residents have are answered and that resources are available to address all resident needs, from housing, to insurance, to FEMA, to mental health and trauma recovery.”
New York
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the creation of the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities on the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. The new office will lead New York’s housing recovery and community resiliency efforts.
Oregon
Echo Mountain Fire survivors and Lincoln City residents are celebrating a new affordable apartment community slated to be completed in early 2024 with the groundbreaking of Wecoma Place, a 44-apartment community that will provide 100% affordable housing. The complex will offer one- and two-bedroom units with rents at 60% and 30% of area median income. The development project was awarded 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Housing Disaster Tax Credits, as well as wildfire direct grants and General Housing Account Program grants.